TAKING its food production to newer heights, Guyana will soon commission the country’s first hydroponics farm.

This was revealed by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha at a recent press conference where he told reporters that the commissioning will take place on the sidelines of the regional Agri-Investment Forum and Expo slated to be held here later this month.

“I am hoping that during the Agri-Investment Expo, we will commission one of the first, or the largest hydroponics farms right here in Guyana. So, those things are positive coming out of the Agriculture Investment Expo,” he said.

Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Israeli company, KARLICO INC., for the development of the massive hydroponic production system.

The government had begun talks with the Israeli investors at the previously-held conference.

The project is also among many initiatives that were birthed out of the regional forum to reduce the current high food import bill.

According to the national agriculture library, hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil, and can include an aggregate substrate, or growing media, such as vermiculite, coconut coir, or perlite.

With an estimated investment of US$15,750,000, the project saw the establishment of a three-phase hydroponic production system, based on nutrient film techniques and soilless production systems.

Those systems were designed for the production of fresh herbs, lettuce, and other leafy vegetables, as well as other high-value crops.

Minister Mustapha explained that these crops can be rotated to meet market demands.

The first phase of the project saw the company setting up a 2,000 square metres state-of-the-art hydroponic system, which will include a cold room, packaging facility, harvesting equipment, irrigation controllers, fertiliser mixers, water recycling system, and emergency water storage among other things.
Phase Two included the construction and installation of an advanced greenhouse system, while Phase Three included the construction of a regional distribution centre, where a variety of agricultural and food products will be collected, processed, packaged, and delivered to both local and international markets, meeting all of the necessary United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and European Food Safety Authority standards and regulations.

Mustapha further indicated that the ministry intends to partner with many other investors to achieve both Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s food security targets.

At the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, held in Belize back in 2022, it was announced that Guyana would host the region’s first agriculture Regional Agri-Investment Forum and Expo. The second was held in Trinidad & Tobago later that same year.

This year, in Guyana, the conference will be held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre from October 20-22.